Ryan Gosling Will Actually Be The Lead In ‘Blade Runner 2’ — Who Will Harrison Ford Play?
Initial reports about the upcoming film Blade Runner 2 suggested that Ryan Gosling would play a minor role in the sci-fi sequel as a replicant. But Ridley Scott has since revealed that Ryan Gosling will actually take on the leading role, with Harrison Ford stepping aside for a minor part.
According to the Guardian, the new Blade Runner film will be set much farther into the future, with time having passed in parallel to the release of the first film. Blade Runner took place in 2019, which means the sequel will have to take the story several decades ahead in order for the futuristic aspects to seem plausible.
According to Den of Geek, Ryan Gosling will be introduced as a brand new character. Ridley Scott suggested that Ford may be reprising his role as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2, but not as the primary protagonist. When asked if Ryan Gosling would be cast for the central part, Scott responded “Yeah, yeah.”
“I spent the last two years writing what will be a sequel [to Blade Runner], and it’s done,” he said. “Harrison [Ford] is in, and the other person – I’m not certain yet, but… I shouldn’t say who. But there’s somebody else who’s very good, very interesting. I think Ryan Gosling is probably going to do it, with Harrison. I can’t really say more than that, because it’ll give away the story. But Harrison’s definitely in it. In an important way.”
Blade Runner 2 will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, who took the helm of the recent crime film Sicario starring Emily Blunt. The Inquisitr reported on Blunt’s role in that film and how the part was nearly re-written for a man. Read more about that here. The film has been extremely well received by critics, which bodes well for the next installment in the Blade Runner story.
Despite Villeneuve’s success, producer Ridley Scott admitted that he wasn’t his first choice to direct Blade Runner 2.
“It’s a hard one. I asked somebody before, who I thought would be right – I would rather not say who it is. He just said, ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m never going to follow through on that.'”
Blade Runner is based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. The author never wrote a follow-up novel to his science fiction classic, but the filmmakers behind the first Blade Runner took many liberties with the source material anyway, changing much of the plot, the ending, and taking on the Blade Runner title despite it having nothing to do with the book.
The Blade Runner sequel is expected to take the android-filled dystopian universe in a totally original direction, with a new script and story written by Ridley Scott, Hampton Fancher, and Michael Green, according to the Internet Movie Database. The script is reportedly excellent and was the deciding factor that made a reluctant Harrison Ford agree to do another Blade Runner movie.
“Harrison said, ‘Meh,’ and I said, ‘No, read this,'” said Scott. “And I think he said, ‘This is the best script I’ve ever had.'”
Digital Trends reported that Ridley Scott is interested in making an entire series of Blade Runner films, just like he plans to do with the Aliens spin-off Prometheus.
When asked why he was considering an ongoing Blade Runner franchise, Scott simply replied, “Listen: Everyone else is, so why not? I love to work.”
Will you be seeing Blade Runner 2? Do you think Ryan Gosling should be the new Blade Runner lead?
[Image credit: Brad Barket / Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images, Warner Bros.]
